A WEBF Article: Programming for Audience Development

Besties, when you take your seat in the auditorium for a show do you look around at the rest of the audience to see who else is there to share the magic of the live experience with you? In this article, we look at the challenges that the sector faces over the next five years and in growing and sustaining its audience base so that the sector thrives.

Key to financial sustainability is audience development to both drive occupancy and frequency, which will make the venue more attractive to visiting productions and give more confidence to producing houses.

Venues need to know their core audience and how to programme for them . For example, The Mill at Sonning has a very clear idea of what its core audience expect in terms of its annual programme and inclusive food offer. The Beck Theatre at Hayes knows its demographic audience in the communities it serves and programmes for it. This is an essential starting point for any regional venue in planning its programme and creating a financially sustainable model of operation.

Post Covid Booking trends

The Stage reported on 7 March this year that they had conducted a survey which showed that first time theatregoers made up 54% of all ticket bookers in 2023 (Indigo/Spektrix), more than in the previous five years. It said it was younger and more diverse with 18% of those bookers under the age of 35. Of course, another explanation might be that those older traditional theatregoers are not booking as much. But only 13% of young people found it very important in their lives. Those under 35 spend £40 per ticket on average. The main reasons for booking were reported as being encouraged by friends, familiarity with work or artist, or a Birthday treat. This is a positive sign for venues to build on. They reported barriers to first time visits were: events were not on individuals’ radar, practical issues such as travel, and ticket prices and value for money. 

Anecdotally, we understand that family bookers have returned post Covid quicker than some older audiences. 

Audience habits

In programming a regional venue, plays and musicals attract a different audience to one nighters. The audiences for the former are driven by a love of the genre and the habit of the regular theatre going, and the latter by the artiste who is headlining, and audiences are unlikely to form the habit of regular visits from booking to see a particular comic. Understanding this local audience and how to target them is critical, especially if they are not a traditional theatre going audience.

However, part of the challenge is modernising the language of theatre to make it sound less elitist and more open (e.g. tickets instead of box office, stage level seats instead of stalls, upper-level seats instead of gods). It is vital to frame the language of the show to address visitors’ fear of the rules or theatre etiquette, and clearly communicate the genre of the show and the nature of the audience interactions with the stage. When is it ok to shout out or singalong, when are we expected to listen intently and applaud politely at the right times? There remains a need to innovate and evolve practices to drive audiences, and experiments such as earlier start times will be worth monitoring the impact of.

The traditional promotional brochure, published 2 or 3 times a year, is no longer the catalyst for a surge in bookings, but some audience members still like them. Online marketing and targeted eShots are more effective but generally people are booking later.

The importance of digital media to reach audiences is now core. Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms build online followers that can be converted to buyers. The platforms understanding of their users’ behaviours and interests provide valuable knowledge to target ads, which can be very effective in terms of returns on the costs of those ads.

The Mill at Sonning reported the number of visits to the venue increased from 30,000 in 2009 to 50-60,000 in 2023 and on average, bookers visit three times per year. They have developed audiences through targeted social media engagement, CRM management, and developing outreach programmes and corporate events. 

Global Majority Audiences

A huge and important opportunity is to develop a programme of work to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, and encourage inclusivity and diversity in the audiences. The starting point here is finding stories that appeal to these less frequent audiences and then securing diverse casts that create role models for audience members to reflect that theatre is for them.

There is a strong case for the development of content for Global Majority audiences by a network of venues across the UK with similar demographics, and using TTR and the spreading of costs across a longer tour to draw in new local audiences and offset the risks. These demographic audiences’ habits can be different, with Sunday performances more attractive to them than Monday to Wednesday.

There have been some interesting stories told that attract these more diverse audiences such as East is East (Ayub Khan Din’s play about a mixed-race family), The Kite Runner (set in Afghanistan), Get up Stand Up! (about the Jamaican artiste Bob Marley) and A Strange Loop (about a young black gay writer). Creatively, the West End feels strong and exciting with works like the 2019/20 Fairview at the Young Vic (about power and preconceptions), For Black boys who have considered suicide when the hue gets too heavy, and Slave Play (about race, identity, and sexuality), challenging audiences to think differently about society. The Bush Theatre with its mission to champion, uplift and support unheard voices has established itself in telling these stories with its latest success, Red Pitch, transferring into the West End.  

The 600-seat Beck Theatre in Hayes had 100,000 visitors last year with 20,000 different bookers for a largely one nighter programme over approx. 300 nights. It serves a population of 1.2m within 30 minutes’ drive but includes areas of deprivation in the bottom 20% of the UK. There is a strong presence in many wards of South Asian heritage and the venue targets these through its programming choices and targeted messaging though key local influencers.  Shows including Jamaica Love (about the Windrush story), Frankie Goes To Bollywood (about a British woman in Bollywood), 10 Nights (set in a mosque during Ramadan), Mrs Kapoor Daughter’s Wedding (an immersive  experience about British Asians on holiday in Mauritius), and Black Wall Street (set in a 1921 all-black suburb of Oklahoma) are designed to appeal to these audiences who are not traditional theatregoers. They are bold innovative initiatives to draw in the local audiences.

The UK Productions’ UK tours of The Kite Runner and The Beekeeper of Aleppo (set-in war-torn Syria) demonstrated that the right titles and diverse casting will attract not only large but more diverse audiences into the theatre. This programming is of value in not just telling these moving cultural stories, but is also vital to develop the audience base, and future acting talent amongst those more diverse audience members who can see their stories being told, and with actors from similar backgrounds on stage. 

A Generational Change

The measure of the success of this type of programming in years to come will not just be whether they sell the seats, but whether the representation on stage will provide the role models for future generations to see a career in theatre as being for them, and when the audiences that the production’s attract represent the mix of the population as whole rather than a targeted demographic because it simply seen as good theatre. Then we will arrive at a truly integrated and equitable representation rather than the current need to target specific groups and risk turning away other groups who then see it as “not for them”. 

West End audiences are predominately white. The current headline grabbing initiatives such as “Black Out” nights to encourage Black audiences to enjoy a show, may risk alienating some of the audience. It will take a generation to change attitudes but every small step that encourages integration and mixed demographic shared experiences is a step in the right direction, not just for audience development, but also for the wider society.

Pantomime

Pantomime is the perfect production to create this generational change with so many young people making their first theatre visits and beginning the process of forming the habit. The school performances bring the demographic mix of the population into the theatre and if they see themselves represented on stage and enjoy the experience, they will take that back into their social settings. Titles like Aladdin with, in the view of wonderful pantomime veteran Nigel Ellacott, Widow Twankey, the best Dame role of all the titles, is rather than being a title to abandon, a perfect title to demonstrate this process. We don’t want to see old racial stereotypes but simply a good script of love between social classes and a fight between good and evil played by a representative cast with music and dance influences from across the globe. The Beck Theatre Hayes will stage the title this year and we look forward to seeing how they evolve the classic story for their local audience just as The Poole Lighthouse Theatre did last year with its update to Aladdin into a cave on the Jurassic south coast.

Access for Registered Disabled 

With 1 in 5 of working population registered with a disability (UK Labour force survey Dec 2023), it is important to make it clear how the venue is accessible to them and the features available to enhance their visitor experience (BSL, Captioned, Touch tours, Relaxed Performances, Induction loop, Dementia Friendly, Accessible and Changing Room toilets). Given the costs of some of these enhancements, venues need to clearly show which performances include these facilities and then describe them in a way to ensure both those who want these elements and those who do not, both enjoy the visit experience. Relaxed events, BSL and Audio described performances are designed to attract new audiences and make theatre more accessible, but they need to ensure that these additions do not put off the current regular audiences.

The tour of the Curve’s production of The Color Purple integrated the BSL signer into the narrative magnificently as did the recent Watermill Youth Theatre production of Wendy and Peter. The inclusion not only makes the production more accessible and normalises the presence of BSL signers but, in both cases, added to the overall production for all audience members.

Once again, pantomime has a valuable role in leading the way on these developments. Imagine (who will produce 18 productions in December 2024) offer a range of accessible performances including:

• Relaxed performances – where they make some small changes to light and sound effects including keeping the house lights on low and removing loud bangs.

• Socially distanced performances - with a reduced audience capacity.

• Signed performances - for those with hearing loss, either 'side of stage' signed or  'integrated signed' where the signers are on stage and part of the action.

• Audio described performances – with a verbal commentary that tells visually impaired theatregoers what is happening on the stage during the parts of the performance where there is no dialogue. 

• Captioned performances – where the words appear on a screen at the same time as they are sung or spoken. Captions also include sound effects, offstage noises, and character names.

Young Audiences

Another key demographic that is vital for the future sustainable theatre is school children. Aside from the annual pantomime visit, many of these smaller venues have good programmes for young audiences that need to be supported .

Fiery Angel has been very successful in developing young diverse audiences though its Children’s Theatre Partnership supported by ACE bringing shows like The Boy at the Back of the Class, about Ahmet who has fled his war-torn home country, to young audiences around the country.

Assistance is needed with travel costs for the school kids and for the school curriculum to encourage the children’s engagement in tehari and drama. This should be a new initiative supported by the next UK Government. 

Membership 

All venues want to create a loyal audience base and increase their visit frequency. Membership is a very valuable tool in building that frequency by discounting for multiple show bookings, access to early booking windows and the offer of unique events for members to add value. No booking fees or discounts on hospitality purchases may also be included. Of course, for receiving houses, producers will be less interested in the frequency than maximising the income for their show, and this is another example whereby the commercial tensions between the two sides may need to be overcome to support the long-term viability of the regional theatre sector.

Producing houses have more freedom to use membership to drive audiences to see multiple shows over the season. The Chichester Theatre Prologue scheme for 16-to30-year-olds which offers £5 reserved seats for all of their productions, and is free to join, is a bold example. These are not just the cheap seats that are hard to sell but spread across the whole venue and therefore seat these young visitors next to those paying full price.

The Watermill Theatre in Newbury has recently relaunched its Membership scheme to support its audience engagement and drive frequency and loyalty. In 2023, The Watermill welcomed 55,000 visitors ,with 40% new bookers driven by its award-winning reinvention of the stage musical of The  Lord of Rings. The Membership scheme is tiered to allow audience to deepen their engagement and support for the venue over time.

Membership allows audiences to demonstrate their support for a venue financially, but also opens up the opportunities for providing insight into the venue operations and programming through exclusive events.

Dynamic Pricing

Another recent development in theatre operations is dynamic pricing and it does occasionally attract adverse comments with headline ticket prices in the West End. It is, of course, not a new concept, with airlines and hotels using it for some time but improvements in ticketing software has enabled venues to increase prices during the on-sale period as occupancy fills up. It encourages early booking, ensures that for sell out shows, ticket touts opportunities are minimised and should allow venues to continue to support targeted lower prices for key demographics by ring fencing tickets for such access schemes, while still driving the financial return.

In a season of plays, it allows the venue to maximise the income on the sell out shows while cross subsidising those that are slower to attract audiences. This approach is essential to create viable venues that attract a wide diverse audience and encourage those who can afford it to provide the finances to allow the venue to subsidise new audience access through lower ticket prices or enhancements to the experience to meet their needs. Empire Street Productions promotes a weekly lottery of 30 ticket per performance at £1, plus as well as day seats to keep the West End accessible for those who can’t afford the premium prices that help fund this initiative. 

There are lots of opportunities to grow audiences with the right product, the right ticket pricing strategy, and the right routes to market to drive awareness and purchase.  Theatre has a knack of navigating crisis because it fills a basic human need but it needs to keep innovating to draw these audiences in and needs the support of the Government of the day and the general public to thrive.

Nick Wayne

Nick has been involved in Producer and Venue Organisations for twenty-five years, seen over 1200 productions, visited over 160 of the UK Venues and directly invested in over 30 West End Productions